Mindfulness Class: Get Ready for the Merry Seasons

Introduction to Mindfulness for Urban Living

In the October of 2018, the
English Dharma Group (EDG) is offering an introductory meditation class.
In this four-week class, participants receive instructions on
Mindfulness Meditation with weekly group practice and daily self
exercises at home.

Background: We live very busy and sometimes chaotic
lives. There are times we wish to slow down and smell the roses. In the
past twenty years, a wealth of scientific and medical research studies
and programs have explored the benefits of Mindfulness Meditation. It
has found its way into the business world, schools, military, medical
and others.
This EDG class is an introduction to the Fundamentals of Mindfulness
with emphasis on “doing” more so then concepts. Consisting of four
weekly sessions with instructions and actual practices. The class uses
the meditation taught by the Buddha 2,500 years ago. The instructions
are non-religious. It is aimed to introduce and develop the mindfulness
skills for busy urban lives. It is designed to allow individuals to
develop regular mindfulness habits therefore attendance to all classes
are mandatory.

The class is free of charge; donations are welcome.

Expectations and Schedule: To benefit from the program, all participants are expected to commit to class schedules and requirements. The four classes are conducted over 4 consecutive Sundays, from 8:00 am – 10:00 am. Weekly instructions are given every Sunday for an hour starting at
8:00 am; participants will then attend EDG’s meditation program from
9:00 am to 10:00 am.
Participants will be given daily mindfulness exercises and are
required to keep a diary of short check-lists, provided by the
instructor. You are encouraged to ask questions and actively contribute
to the growth of the group. There is a minimum requirement of 5
participants to start the program.

Program: The class is led by Josten Ma, a
long-time member of Jade Buddha Temple and former manager of the English
Dharma Group (EDG). His meditation practice evolved over more than 20
years, during which he participated in numerous meditation retreats in
the US and overseas, lasting as long as a month. He has studied various
popular meditation methods and as a result chose the Insight Meditation
practice as a place to develop his mind.

Goals: The class central focus is on techniques and
habit-forming developments, not on concepts. Discussions on meditation
difficulties with personal practices are encouraged and individual
attentions could be possible.

Orientation October 7, 2018 : Ameet
and greet session; learn about the program with a brief introduction of
techniques, set expectations and determine if the class is a good fit
for you. You may participate in both classes (Fall and Winter) or only
one.

Why do you want to invest your time and efforts for four weeks? When Josten Ma was asked about the reasons for this class, he recalled the following story:

Story of the “Truth of the World”A man seeking the ultimate wisdom (Truth off the World) searched
high and low for many years, to every corner of the world. And he is
growing old.Finally, when he was 80 years old, he arrived at
the door of the wise man and then asked: “What is the ultimate wisdom of
the world?”The answer that came from the wise man was “Do good and avoid evil.”Immediately,
the old man responded angrily and shouted: “Why did I search high and
low for such a long time and every corner of the world for these words
that even a child knows?” He was so angry that he was about to strike
the wise man. The wise man then kindly looked at the angry old man and said, “Yes, a child might know but not even an 80-year-old man can do.”
In these four weeks you will learn and practice mindfulness
techniques that have been proven effective in dealing with difficult
encounters. The program is designed to help you establish and strengthen
your meditation habits.

Who should attend?

Anyone interested in gaining a deeper awareness of day to day busy urban living.

Anyone who would like to learn more about meditation practice in a group setting.

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Vipassana
Meditation Why
people quit & tips on how to makes your a success This
is a discussion given during Sunday Jade
Buddha Temple, English
Dharma Group, so you are welcome to ask
questions any time or leave a comment I this case. Also, in an hour
we can cover one aspect of Insight Meditation so by no means an
exhaustive discussion. Most of it are based my personal study and
experiences of the past 20 years. I have been very lucky to find
like minded practitioners supporting my journey. Without, this
community, I might have stopped years ago. The other is that, is
partly due to my self determination and effort, I have managed to
participat in many retreats from 1-day up to 20 days. During these
period, I have gone to at least one long retreats every year. In
this talk you will hear statement, like 'Insight Meditation
requires mindfulness, alertness and ardency'. The
statement is simple and direct but loaded with meaning. Or may be
you have your own experience af…